Of course, because of the frantic pace of life nowadays, which often requires both parents to work, many families rely more and more on ready meals rather than nutritious home cooked meals. This together with a lack of physical exercise is of course largely responsible for the high rate of obesity in kids, and as such, I'd like to address some of the more common questions I receive from parents on a daily basis.
Is it necessary to put my child on a diet?
In short, if other kids are ridiculing your child because of their weight, then you should definitely introduce a suitable diet. Likewise, if your child is feeling uncomfortable with regards to their weight, then again, the answer is yes. In fact, the sooner you do so, the better, rather than putting it off until a later stage. To shed a bit of light on this, let be briefly explain what's called the "Fat Theory". Essentially, the amount of fat you have depends on the amount of fat cells you have, and while the number of fat cells tends to taper off as you reach adulthood, they increase for the duration of the growing period. As such, an obese child could in all likelihood have the same amount of fat cells as an adult. Unfortunately, this is not something all kids grow out of and in fact, the problem often becomes worse, hence the importance of tackling the problem as soon as possible.
What is the best age for starting my child on a weight loss diet?
While numerous unhealthy eating habits can be altered in kids of all ages, a specific diet should only be considered for kids of four years or older. First of all, you need to all but eliminate sweets, pop-tarts and sweetened cereals from the breakfast table. For the most part, these are loaded with sugar and because of this; they will affect your child's blood sugar level, thus causing your child to become increasingly hungry later in the day. Instead, make sure they rather eat protein rich foods for breakfast such as yogurt, cheese, toast, milk and etc. Another problem we need to take into consideration is the mental attitude of kids under the age of twelve. These kids often pose a greater challenge because even though they may want to loose weight, they are often only concerned about it while in the company of other kids who may ridicule them. Because of this so-called lack of vanity, parents could try encouraging them to make their own list consisting of three reasons why they would want to loose weight. This help to make the child feel as if they're in charge, rather than being pressurized by parents who sometimes come across as being food police.
Ideally, how many calories should be present in my child's diet?
Essentially, for children under the age of thirteen, the calorie count should never drop 1700 per day, even when on a weight loss diet. Dropping below this mark may stunt growth. Generally speaking, they should be consuming approximately 500 calories per day more that an adult would if they were also trying to loose weight. Furthermore, there should be no attempt made to shed more than half a pound of fat per week, both for the safety of your child, and also for other reasons. Remember, trying to enforce a diet which is too strict can often back-fire further down the line, so rather than focusing on prohibiting certain foods altogether, rather simply restrict them with regards to quantity. For example, if you child has always been allowed to drinking five or six glasses of Coke each day, you could cut this back to three or four glasses at first, and reduce it further a few weeks down the line. Bear in mind, your child's eating habits are something they've been accustomed to for as long as they can remember so it's imperative that you are there to lend them support. Also, it's crucial that you always focus praise on the changes they have made, rather than on the results they've achieved. This will allow them to feel as though they can confide in you should they have a bad week, rather than feel as though they've let you down.
Dan Clay is a renowned Sydney personal trainer & real world fat loss expert. Click here kids fitness Sydney for more information on his Sydney children personal training programs.
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